The LGBTQIA+ arts and entertainment organization Outfest has announced the postponement of the Legacy Awards to 2024 and the suspension of programming, citing struggles amid the current “financial climate” of Hollywood.
Outfest’s board of directors released a statement on the decision.
“To ensure that Outfest endures and thrives for the next 40 years in its core mission to champion LGBTQIA+ storytellers and create opportunities, the Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to scale back our operations for the next several months,” reads the statement.
Most of the organization’s staff will have to go on leave while it pauses programming.
The message continues, “Like other nonprofit organizations, Outfest has been severely impacted by the financial climate of the media and entertainment industry.This means the organization will unfortunately also have to initiate leaves for the majority of our staff, while we humbly focus on creating a financial model that prioritizes programming that serves our community, a supportive environment for our staff, and ultimately protects the organization.”
In late September, the fest’s executive director Damien Navarro took a leave of absence amid layoffs, and Zackery Alexzander Stephens became acting executive director.
While the WGA strike was recently resolved, the SAG-AFTRA strike continues, and industry workers continue to be financially impacted by both.
The statement also acknowledges their staff’s decision to unionize: “The Board proudly supports the staff’s right to unionize and has provided the staff with a letter recognizing their union, including having reached out to find a date to meet.It is our continued priority to honor the staff as we forge a productive path forward.”
Shirley MacLaine and Trace Lysette were slated to be honored at the postponed Legacy Awards. In addition to these events, Outfest curates a virtual arts and media queer history museum, fosters artist development, hosts a producers lab and organizes the annual Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Festival, among other programming.
The board of directors concluded their statement by writing, “We are optimistic this will provide the best position for the organization to ultimately ensure Outfest’s festival and programming are able to continue to support LGBTQIA+ filmmakers.”
